Black Box World (Thirteen)

As for the inner object-aspect (nimitta), that mountain is composed of the four great seed-elements of earth, water, fire, and wind. When we want to look at it, our own tathāgatagarbha comes into contact with that external mountain and takes in the four great subtle particles of earth, water, fire, and wind that constitute the mountain. After the subtle particles are taken in, they are transmitted continuously to our eye faculty, to the eyeball, into the vitreous body, to the visual nerves, and to the supreme faculty (indriya) at the back of our brain, where the tathāgatagarbha immediately transforms these particles into the visible forms of the inner object-aspect.

The external object-aspect of that mountain is jointly held by the tathāgatagarbhas of sentient beings with common karma, whereas the mountain in our inner object-aspect is a shadow manifested by our own tathāgatagarbha based on the external object-aspect. The transformation of the external object-aspect into the inner object-aspect contains extremely many mysteries, involving questions of profound Yogācāra wisdom.

The mountain we see contains so many mysteries, and the entire process of seeing the mountain contains even more mysteries. How does the tathāgatagarbha hold the external mountain? It is that the tathāgatagarbhas of all sentient beings jointly output the four great seed-elements moment by moment, to jointly transform, hold, and alter that mountain. That mountain is also changing moment by moment, so that mountain, after thousands and tens of thousands of years, will also change and disappear. The saying that the vast sea turns into mulberry fields, and mulberry fields turn into the vast sea, is precisely this principle.

The entire great earth is changing. Why does it change? Because it is summoned by the karmic conditions of sentient beings. Therefore, the tathāgatagarbhas of all sentient beings with common karma output the four great seed-elements moment by moment, jointly transforming and maintaining these external object-aspects composed of earth, water, fire, and wind—mountains, waters, the material universe, and so on. The relationships here are especially complex and very difficult to explain clearly.

When an individual sentient being's tathāgatagarbha conditions that mountain, the tathāgatagarbha will take in the four great subtle particles corresponding to the sentient being's own karmic force. If a sentient being has much wholesome karma, the manifested inner object-aspect will be relatively more complete; if there is much unwholesome karma, the manifested inner object-aspect will be poor and defective. Everyone's karmic obstructions are different. After the four great subtle particles of that mountain are taken in, because the particles taken in differ, the manifested inner object-aspect differs. The inner object-aspect is also manifested according to the karmic seeds and karmic force of sentient beings.

The mountains, rivers, and great earth seen in each person's eyes are all different. The very same mountain appears beautiful to some people and not beautiful to others, which is related to merit, karmic force, state of mind, and so on. When an arhat enters Nirvāṇa without remainder, the portion of the external object-aspect of mountains, rivers, and the great earth that he participated in manifesting disappears along with him. Yet sentient beings cannot perceive the change in the external object-aspect, only because there are too many sentient beings participating in manifesting the external object-aspect. When the arhat's tathāgatagarbha withdraws all of its own four great elements, the change in the external object-aspect is not obvious, so we cannot perceive it; only the Buddha and the great bodhisattvas can perceive it.

Because the tathāgatagarbha possesses the seeds of material form and personally participates in manifesting material form, it can come into contact with the external object-aspect of the mountain, directly condition that mountain, and take in the four great subtle particles. After taking them in, it can transmit them through certain obstructing objects to the eye's gross faculty and the supreme faculty (indriya). Thus, when we look at the mountain outside through a window, we can see the mountain of the inner object-aspect.